Charles Haddon Spurgeon tops virtually every list of the most famous and influential preachers of the English-speaking world. More than a century after his death, thousands of his sermons remain in print and in demand. What can explain the power and substance of this ministry?

Preaching has fallen on hard times. At least, that’s the impression you would gain by listening to much of what passes for preaching in American pulpits. Something is clearly missing–and that missing element is the deep passion for biblical exposition that always characterizes the great preachers of an era.

Several years ago I made a pilgrimage to a quiet cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey. I was looking for one grave in particular, but the Princeton village cemetery is the burial ground for many luminaries, including most of the early faculty members at Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary.